Do I assume that any division of a pension is done at the time of the settlement and there is no point and rushing out and getting a valuation now the stock market has gone through the floor?

Although done at the time of the settlement, it is done on valuations that were produced at some time within the preceding twelve months.

If you are going through ancillary relief each part will be obliged to make a disclosure – on Form E. Pension valuations are a requirement on this form.

If it is a defined benefit (salary related) pension, he current stock market conditions will not be reflected in the valuation provided by the scheme (except that any underfunding is likely to have got worse).

If it is a defined contribution (money purchase) pension, it may well have lost a lot of value. If a settlement is made ­base­d on a pension valuation obtained when the market is low, the settlement will favour one party over the other, if and when the market recovers. It is rather similar to the issues concerning property valuation. From a pensions perspective, the fairest solution would be to obtain a series of valuations over a period of time (say six months or so) and average the values. But then, not everyone is interested in achieving a “fair” settlement!